organic farming

Would I be right in saying it can only be fully converted or in conversation farmers that can use the service? Even so, it will be tough for the volume of sales here to be higher than DD due to its sheer volume of users in general. I'm not sure about it being a lot harder, definitely possible though of organic breeding heifers are easier to source. Are you speculating about this or do you know for sure?

Organic trust emailed me my own login for it a few days ago so didn't have to register. Like everything, I'm sure it'll have a few teething problems, but hopefully it'll be successful.

See the EU on about a slump in organic sales across the board, and organic farmers selling products at the same prices as conventional. Can't say I'm surprised.

Its a bit of a simplistic assessment in that conventional beef and lamb sales have also contracted significantly in that time across the EU and UK. Current Milk Price speaks too to such trends. Indeed in the latter lamb consumption is now barely half of what it was just 15 years ago. At least Organics is not subject to increasing costs in inputs like Chem fert etc.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/24/uk-meat-consumption-lowest-level-since-record-began-data-reveal#:~:text=That%20was%20down%20from%20976g,11%25%20in%20the%20past%20decade.

Producing self grown feed requires a rotation. It will be an approach most farmers haven't done in their lifetime. The simplest rotation, is 20 acres, 10 acres red clover, 10 acres oats/barley and flip them every three years.

The other option is a barley/pea or bean mix, crimp it. It is a couple of years ago but on a farm visit, they were producing that for €157/ton. All it needed was minerals.

You'd need your own small combine for that job too. And the time to go the second it's fit. With challenging weather conditions in the west of Ireland, contractors won't be got with suitable combines in the areas and off farm jobs of people that need to be flexible to allow to go the second it's ready.

Even in the favourable tillage areas with full time operators. Some have over stretched themselves basing their machinery and labour on the perfect year weather wise. When the disastrous year strikes there's no way they can reach it all.

For anyone in the west especially at that craic you'd need your own combine. Even for the 10 or 20 acres.

That's why the crimping or wholecrop would be a better option. I fully understand the problem of combining a crop of oats.

You still have to combine to crimp. Combining is the issue. You could possibly do a forage crop but the problem is too much straw in the silage.

I have done all of that crimping was never an option as no tillage man is going to come to combine 5 acres of grain. You might get him for ten acres but you be last on the list. Crimping might save you but it would depend on how much winter grain he had to do or if he was involved in silage harvesting as well.

I did peas and barley in reseeding you risk is you will smother the grass if you do it as a forage crop. Only the hybrids can survive in such a crop in an year with very good growing conditions. Ya you could use a tine harrow to incorporate more grass seed into the ley the following year.

But forage silage has too much straw unless you have a headset on the combine to only take 8-10'' of straw with it. Then unless you put it into a pit of silage you will not have enough moisture to preserve it.

Red clover and grass is only a three year crop and even by the third year the crop will be poor. Tilling will cost 2-300/ acre any year you don't whether it's grass, clover or grain. Ideally with organics you most plough and that is another problem on poorer quality land.

Hoping to join next year.

have low enough stocking rate at about .5Lu/ HA and fertiliser and silage killing me price wise.

will know this year how many bales I need with current stocking rate.

what catches me is the land is so wet, it’s hard to not house for 6months.

the extra few Bob might help me improve the farm.

currentlt at €13k farm payments including acres and mam gets between €10k-€12k a year so nothing to play with.

That’s great advice, I’ve asked my advisor to maximise payments and that I’m hoping for organic, I’ll just remind about the crossover of payments.

im in a cp zone and it’s looking like the €7k with just the field scoring. But I must watch the topups.

I'm not good on T & Cs, just pass on anything my advisors mention, usually.

That 7k will be obliterated with organics. You'll still paid, but at a far lower rate and if you get below 8 out of 10 you get zero. It's very harsh to be fair.